Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Geneva Show: SEAT IBE Concept for a 'Baby' Scirocco Coupe

[Updated with 'Live' Photos from Geneva] And by 'baby' Scirocco, we're not referring to the styling of Seat's Geneva-bound IBE concept car but to the size of the shooting-break-like coupe model that's only 3,780mm long or about 250mm shorter than an Ibiza and almost half a meter shorter than VW's coupe.Talking about dimensions, Seat's sports study has an unusual breadth of 1,800mm and an overall height of only 1,220mm giving the IBE classic sports car proportions. The short front and rear overhangs, low bonnet and long roof-line along with the 19-inch alloys also help to accentuate the car's sporty looks.There are no photos of the interior but Seat claims that the IBE is a 2+2 seater with plenty of space for a couple - meaning that the rear seats are for children at best.The Spanish firm's tasty-looking concept car uses a front-mounted electric motor that produces a maximum output of 75 kW (102 hp) and 200 Nm of torque and a lithium-ion battery positioned at the rear end of the vehicle.Seat says that the IBE, which tips the scales at 1,000 kg or 2,205 lbs, completes the city dash from 0 to 50 km/h (31mph) in 3.4 seconds and within 6.3 seconds, reaches 80 km/h (50mph), while the classic 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint comes after 9.4 seconds. Top speed is pegged at 160 km/h or 100mph.So, the question is will VW's Spanish subsidiary build a production version of the car? Well, for now, the IBE is a pure concept study with Seat claiming that the car is "like a concentrated gene pool for our next generation of vehicles" and that it will have a clear impact on all of the firm's future models.However, given that the VW Group wants to reshape the Spanish brand, we wouldn't be surprised if a similar-looking coupe model based on the Ibiza/Polo/A1 platform receives the green light in the near future.And if you want our opinion, a small sporty model with the IBE's looks and the Group's bubbly TSI engines would be a perfect addition to Seat's current portfolio.